Want It Too Much
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: There's a monster on the loose that's poisoning people, changing their behavior. Riley is the one that realizes Chase has been affected, because of how Chase acts towards him – hitting on him when the monster still needs to be caught. They're both affected afterward.


_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing._

 _ **Author Note:** **Warning:** Features a character's behaviour changed without their consent, affecting the way they interact with another character, includes above-clothes touching from the start which is non-consensual. Title is a lyric from the song 'Poison' by Alice Cooper._

* * *

 **WANT IT TOO MUCH**

Riley first realized something had gone very wrong when Chase sat down next to him and put a hand on his thigh. It'd been a weird and difficult few days, Sledge had sent down some kind of snake monster calling itself Venoma which had unleashed snake-like creatures from its hair that had bitten people, changing their behavior. Miss Morgan hadn't been able to find a common link which would have really helped in identifying a way to combat the toxin and beat the monster. A couple of people had suddenly changed jobs, often to something unexpected like working in a circus or wanting to act on stage or become a singer. Others had started buying expensive gifts for themselves or their friends and family or had booked outlandish vacations. There were a few who'd reacted aggressively – getting arrested for suddenly-frequent bar fights, for example, or getting so angry with their bosses that they'd been fired or very suddenly they'd left their partners or families.

It was all really weird. Miss Morgan had gotten her hands on some blood samples and now had proof that something had physically gotten into the victims' systems.

"Sledge and Fury usually make bigger splashes than this," Chase had pointed out not long ago. "I mean, the tooth ache thing, then trapping us in that freezing maze building, stealing the Gold Energem. This is pretty small fry."

"Yeah, how does this help them, at all?" Shelby had wanted to know.

"It's keeping us occupied," Riley had offered. "We're focusing on this mystery instead of whatever else it is they're probably doing."

So the Rangers had redoubled their efforts to track down what Sledge was doing this time – searching for another Energem maybe? Or another Zord? It turned out he'd been testing Venoma's sting. The Rangers had gotten caught up in a fight not long after that with Venoma and a bunch of Vivix, trying to prevent Venoma from biting any more civilians. Afterward, back at the museum, Miss Morgan had focused on a whole battery of tests with Riley assisting until Keeper had told him to take a break to clear his mind and the others had gone out looking for Venoma. That was when Chase had planted himself down next to Riley on the couch, his hand hot and high up on Riley's thigh.

Riley startled because Chase was tactile and usually ignored personal space but never like this, never like something Riley did not ever talk or even think about, especially around the other Rangers. Because Chase was a team mate and a friend and very interested in every girl he met. So.

So now, something was wrong. Chase was smiling at Riley, he was close and warm and his breath smelled of Bronto burger and barbeque sauce and his hand was stroking Riley's thigh. Riley stayed very still, his heart thumping wildly, because of Chase's sudden and extreme closeness and because this was not Chase's usual behavior. Oh no.

Riley cleared his throat, "Chase, what are you doing?"

"We've both got this shift off, right? We should go grab lunch together."

Chase sounded completely serious, even if he was still smiling and looking at Riley like he usually looked at the girls he flirted with. And he was more interested in asking Riley out than helping track down Venoma. Riley managed a slight thin smile, his mind racing. Chase had been affected; he must have been bitten and not told the Rangers, why? And why was he trying to ask Riley out?

Chase's hand traveled a little higher up Riley's thigh, causing Riley's voice to go higher too, "Okay, sure. Why don't we go right now?"

Chase grinned, looking completely happy, "Great. There's a really awesome Chinese place not far from here, have you been there before? It's the one with a blue dragon statue in the window."

Chase was getting to his feet while he spoke, his hand trailing away from Riley's leg – which was really helpful and also made Riley's throat constrict. Riley reached for his saber, always close by, and took careful purposeful aim.

When Chase reached for Riley, helping him up from the couch, Riley gripped his hand, taking the help before, with one swing of his saber, he knocked Chase out. Chase fell silently, heavily, to the floor. Riley took a couple of deep breaths and then contacted Miss Morgan. His hands were shaking a little; his heart was still hammering hard. It was the right thing to do, it had to be. Chase stayed silent.

* * *

"You were right, Riley. There's a bite on his left wrist. How did you know?"

Riley rolled his lips together, trying not to think about Chase's hand touching him, his closeness, his eagerness. Miss Morgan was still waiting for an answer, as were the others. Chase was in a little isolation room – lying in a bed, connected up to machines, his system being flushed to try and get Venoma's toxin out. He looked pale, he didn't look right silent. Riley didn't like looking away from him though.

"He wasn't himself; I mean there was something off, like with the others we heard about. It just wasn't Chase, not completely."

Inwardly, Riley winced at his own explanation but it was the best he could offer. Shelby gave him an intent curious look that Riley ignored as he focused on Miss Morgan instead who didn't look happy with his explanation. She wasn't going to let this go so Riley sighed, because they were his friends and teammates and yes, he got that they needed to know but still, he didn't do public heart-to-hearts, especially about something he'd been keeping this private. This was the very definition of doing something he was very uncomfortable with; he wondered how Chase would feel about it. He couldn't focus on that, so...

"Look, Chase said and did some things that he's not going to be happy about when he's back to himself, okay?"

Tyler looked at him with a dawning look of concern, "He didn't-."

"He didn't hurt me or anything like that, he just...said some things and-."

"He hit a nerve," Shelby observed way too astutely.

Riley nodded, that was a good way to put it, "Yeah so I've dealt with it, and Chase is going to recover and that's it."

The others didn't look exactly happy but they nodded and backed off. Miss Morgan tapped at her computer tablet, frowning.

"Chase received a much stronger dose than anyone else; it's amazing he didn't start exhibiting strange behavior sooner."

"Chase is pretty strange already though," commented Shelby with a slight smile. "Maybe that's why it took so long to start affecting him."

Miss Morgan didn't look amused or convinced, continuing to work on her computer tablet. "Well, thanks to Chase's bloodwork, I should be able to engineer something that could neutralize the toxin."

"A cure?" Tyler asked, his expression and voice bright with hope.

"Chase will be well again?" Koda wanted to know.

Miss Morgan nodded and Riley glanced towards Chase, silent and still. He thought about how Chase had looked at him with such intent, like Riley was his sole focus, like Riley made him incredibly happy. Yeah. It took a poisoning for that to happen.

"Riley."

Koda was calling his name, Riley quickly focused on his team, "What is it?"

Shelby looked far too understanding and Tyler looked worried, "Do you think you were affected too? By Chase?"

Affected by Chase. Riley kept his expression blank enough, "No, no. I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Shelby countered. "How many nerves did he hit?"

"I'll take a blood sample," Miss Morgan added, syringe in hand. "If nothing else, it'll be useful as a comparison."

There was nothing Riley could say in the face of that logic so he rolled up his sleeve and let Miss Morgan take a sample while he watched Riley through the glass wall of the isolation room. Miss Morgan really had been incredibly prepared for so many eventualities. Riley was glad; Chase going to a hospital like this, it didn't seem right.

Once Miss Morgan had cleared Riley, Tyler led the Rangers out to deal with Venoma, just in time to discover that Sledge had gotten his hands on another new Zord. Thankfully, by the time the Rangers were in the thick of battle, Miss Morgan had finished the cure and tested it on Chase.

"The medication is starting to eliminate the toxin in Chase's bloodstream," she told the others via comms. "It'll take some time but it's working."

Riley's heart jumped but he nodded and continued the fight. They were a Ranger down so he needed to stay focused, like he always did. Chase was fine. Riley was mortified by the memory of what had happened between them but Chase was going to be fine, as would the affected civilians. The Rangers weren't able to gain the new Zord but they were able to do enough damage to cause Venoma, Sledge and his troops to retreat. It wasn't victory but it was enough that day.

* * *

Back at the museum, Chase was still sleeping. The Rangers all watched him for a little while, his chest moving with every breath. Riley's fingers twitched, like they wanted to touch the glass. He could remember the touch of Riley's hand.

Miss Morgan and the Keeper asked Riley for a word in private. Once they were inside one of the side laboratories, Miss Morgan handed him a tablet computer, displaying graphs and numbers.

"I've been able narrow down what Venoma's toxin actually does to people."

Riley frowned at the computer tablet – there was a lot of information there, a lot of chemical names that weren't familiar to him. He looked at Miss Morgan for answers. She seemed a fraction hesitant which was seriously unusual for her.

"None of Venoma's victims were forced to do anything against their will. In fact, it was all them."

Riley looked from her to Keeper and back again, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Chase, that all the civilians who were bitten, it was like their inhibitions were affected, lowered to be exact, causing them to do things that ordinarily they probably wouldn't do. But Venoma's toxin unleashes those kind of instincts, without any checks or balances."

Inhibitions, that explained the weird range of responses. Riley handed back Miss Morgan's computer tablet, parsing the information he'd been given. "But Venoma didn't give anyone a huge dose; otherwise things would have been a lot worse, right? There would have been looting, a lot more crime..."

"A lot more chaos," agreed Miss Morgan. "My theory is that Venoma's toxin was being _tested_ on civilians until Chase was bitten. All of you,the Rangers, are the intended targets, because then you'd probably drop your guards, maybe reveal where your Energems are stored and your weapons, maybe you wouldn't answer a call to fight."

"Sledge could find his way here," Riley realized aloud. "He could get his hands on all our Energems."

It was a very clever plan, it made Riley feel chilled to the bone because people's minds had been messed with, their behavior changed, without their consent.

"But we were lucky that Chase was bitten," the Keeper spoke up at last. "While he suffered a large dose of Venoma's toxin, Chase does not live in self-denial."

Riley nodded, understanding. "That's why we didn't notice he'd gotten bitten sooner, if he hadn't..."

If Chase hadn't hit on Riley, maybe no one would have noticed until Sledge was making his way through the museum. Jesus. Miss Morgan's expression twisted uncomfortably.

"There are security cameras set up throughout the museum, Riley, including here."

Oh."So you saw what happened."

Miss Morgan nodded swiftly, "I thought you should know first, before I tell the others."

Riley was about to protest but Miss Morgan continued quickly, "They need to know what happened, an explanation so that they completely understand. Venoma hasn't been destroyed yet."

Right so Venoma could be back. Riley nodded stiffly. "Yeah, I get it. Thanks for telling me."

Miss Morgan quickly left the room, obviously glad to escape the awkwardness. The Keeper stayed though.

"Chase is lucky to have you as a friend, Riley."

"I couldn't stop him getting bitten."

"None of us did but you noticed the problem and made sure he was stopped before his behavior escalated. I'm sure he will be grateful."

Riley snorted; he could only imagine how Chase was going to tease him, if Chase actually remembered what had happened between them or what had almost happened.

"It wasn't...it wasn't something Chase wanted to tell me, it was something the toxin brought out of him. Maybe he didn't want me to know because he's ashamed or embarrassed about-."

"Caring for you? Riley, Chase has always been open about who and what he cares about. Whatever reason he had for keeping silent, it must be important."

Chase could be thoughtless, even cruel in a casual offhand oblivious way, but he was definitely good-hearted – the Energem wouldn't have bonded with him otherwise. And yes, Riley liked him, cared for him, in a different way than he liked and cared about his other teammates. But the way Chase really felt, that was still a mystery – Venoma's toxin apparently unlocked parts of people's psyches that were usually kept regimented and silent, maybe for good reason, maybe not.

An alarm blared and Riley hurried out of the lab, meeting the others as Miss Morgan hit buttons with increasing urgency. If the others looked at Riley any differently, he ignored them as Miss Morgan said,

"Venoma's appeared again, she's infecting more people."

Tyler immediately straightened up, "Come on, we almost beat her last time. We can't let that toxin spread even further."

"I'll work on getting the cure to more hospitals in the area," Miss Morgan added.

Riley glanced once towards where he knew Chase was still resting. He could do this, they all could.

* * *

Venoma was a tough opponent but this time, with a new Zord configuration and a powerful weapon strike, she was defeated and destroyed. Riley breathed out a sigh of relief; it'd taken longer than usual to cinch victory thanks to Chase's absence. The Rangers really were meant to work as a team.

"The affected patients are starting to respond to the cure," Miss Morgan informed them via comms.

"That's great news," Tyler enthused, the others chiming in too in a mess of happy noise.

Riley was the one who quietly asked, "How's Chase doing?"

"He's awake and according to the tests I've done, he should make a full recovery."

There were more happy noises but no one tried to talk to Riley about it. He was hugely grateful, focusing on getting back to the museum, on seeing that Chase was okay with his own eyes. He felt Koda pat his back and Tyler bump shoulders with him but that was it. That was good.

Riley's heart was hammering fast again, he was thinking about Chase. He was okay and that was fine, they could both put this behind them. They'd need to, for the good of the team. And well, Chase clearly hadn't wanted to say anything before. So Riley wasn't going to say anything, not unless Chase did. That was the best idea.

* * *

Back at the museum, Chase was sitting up in bed, looking pale and tired but okay. He smiled when he saw his teammates and accepted brief hugs and hand-clasps from them. Riley hung back a bit, his expression careful and cautious. Chase seemed just as cautious with him but managed a smile. Okay, that was something. Still Riley's stomach dropped and he watched as Chase assured the others he was okay and teased them for just about managing without them.

Riley couldn't take his eyes off Chase. Miss Morgan fiddled with one of the tubes that Chase was hooked up to and Keeper was definitely looking at Riley. Well, Riley knew what he was going to do. He tapped a hand to his watch.

"I need to get up to the cafe," he said. "Dinner rush."

He left before anyone could stop him. Koda, Tyler and Shelby joined him soon enough, all three glancing at him when they thought he wasn't looking. Riley concentrated on the cash register and making sure the right orders went out. Chase needed to recover and he and Riley were going to be professional and not talk about what monsters made happen. If Sledge had wanted to cause problems, yeah, okay, maybe he'd known what he was doing.

Koda handed him a burger – actually cooked properly – and hugged him, uncharacteristically careful not to mash the burger and Riley together. That raised a laugh from Riley and he appreciated the thought. He was hungry. Tyler and Shelby seemed to spend a lot of time furiously arguing in whispers. Riley ignored them with gritted teeth and got on with his job.

When it was time to close up and head back downstairs before leaving for the night, Riley was not dragging his feet. He was just letting the others go on ahead. Chase was fine, he was healthy and that was what mattered. Riley was not going to let this screw anything else up. Chase hadn't been in complete control of himself and things had been said and done that he probably wasn't happy with.

In the end, Riley arrived just as the others were saying their goodbyes to Chase. Apparently Shelby wanted dinner somewhere that wasn't the museum and she was taking Koda and Tyler with her. Riley was drinking from a juice box, of all things, as Miss Morgan took notes in the nearby lab and Keeper was nowhere to be seen.

Once the others had left, Chase's gaze landed on Riley and there was a flash of something in his eyes, something that Riley almost missed because he wasn't used to seeing it on Chase's face. Had that been self-loathing? Disgust? Riley frowned and stepped closer.

"Are you okay, Chase?"

Chase smiled but it was strained. He fidgeted with the juice box and glanced down and away more than once. Okay, that was not the response Riley had been steeling himself for. Miss Morgan left the lab, her footsteps echoing and Riley, he was close to the bed now and Chase looked apprehensive and pained, like...

"Surprised you want to be anywhere near me, mate," he said at last, his mouth lifting into something halfway near his usual smirk.

Riley froze, confusion completely overtaking him now, "What do you mean?"

Chase eyed him disbelievingly, "C'mon, after Venoma gave me that shot? Pretty sure you didn't agree to being felt up."

Riley blinked. This was what Chase was looked so screwed up about? Yes, Riley was affected by what had happened, but definitely not for that reason. Riley quickly moved closer, coming to perch on the edge of the bed. Chase looked startled.

"Chase, I...okay I didn't agree, but I was surprised, that's all, it was **very** sudden."

Chase raised his eyebrows, his mouth turning bitter. "Really, because you couldn't wait to get away from me earlier."

Riley winced, that was true. His fingers plucked at the bedsheets for a bit, close to Chase's buried form. So Chase had been badly affected by this, just not in the way Riley had expected. Chase clearly felt like he'd hurt Riley with actions that hadn't totally been his and Riley...Riley did not want to talk about this but he didn't want Chase to feel like this either. No way.

So, okay then. Riley took a deep breath, "That's not why I made sure I wasn't late for the dinner rush. I..Miss Morgan told you what Venoma's toxin did, right?"

Chase nodded warily. Okay, good. Riley pushed onwards, his stomach turning over. "So if I'd been bitten, I might have...asked you out too."

There was a stunned silence. When Riley chanced a look at Chase, he found the Black Ranger was incredibly still. Riley felt he shouldn't move either, he felt like his heart was beating so loudly that Chase had to hear it too.

"You actually mean that, don't you," Chase stated, sounding shellshocked.

Riley's mouth twitched up briefly into a smile, "Yeah and I really didn't want to talk about it, clearly you didn't either otherwise Venoma wouldn't have had any effect on...that."

Chase shifted a little and looked intently at Riley, "You're making it sound like a disease, Riley."

Riley grimaced, this was exactly why he hadn't want to dig into this but Chase was still looking shuttered and unhappy and Riley really couldn't stand that or Chase's self-blame so he stayed right where he was and responded.

"You flirt with every girl you see, Chase." Riley paused, not wanting use that biting tone again. "And then suddenly you asked me out and...everything and I realized it was Venoma and it was...it wasn't a great realization so yes, I was avoiding you today."

He took a deep breath and looked firmly at Chase, "And yes, it was to do with what you did, not in the way you think."

It was possible that he pressed a little closer to Chase at that point and he felt Chase shift nearer too. It wasn't much but it still made Riley's breath catch. Chase cleared his throat.

"This is not how I imagined my day going."

His hand grazed Riley, Riley didn't jump but it was a near thing, much more than it usually was. Chase's smile was still tentative but there was a slip of the old Chase in his expression, a slip of something that made Riley smile a little too, feeling relief and something slowly warming inside of him.

Chase eyed him, "We can forget about all of this, I bet everyone else who got poisoned plans on doing a lot of forgetting."

Riley thought about it because that was what he'd wanted, wasn't it? To forget about what had happened. But he didn't want Chase to keep feeling like this, to be so shuttered and self-loathing and not Chase. It hadn't been...it hadn't been what either Chase or Riley had thought it was. But there was something in Chase's expression, in the way he looked at Riley now, under the still-present pain and tiredness. That was real; Riley couldn't deny that.

"We're teammates," he said quietly, "And there are responsibilities and there's a lot we need to talk about."

Chase was still looking tentative but that faint realness – want, hope, relief - was still there too. Riley swallowed and stayed right where he was, their hands close.

In the morning, Riley and Chase were both still there.

 _-the end_


End file.
